So, you’ve decided that you want to get your first “proper” camera. You may have shot a few photos on your iPhone or other such devices but now you want a dedicated piece of equipment to take photos with. You haven’t done that much research into photography but you know the basic fact that if you want to take good photos you need a Canon or Nikon DSLR. However, this is the first mistake. People naturally blindly follow what they believe is the only route into “proper” photography but there’s a way that’s cheaper and better for learners.

My first film camera was purchased around 3 years ago in an antique shop in Poznan, Poland. After admiring an old-fashioned camera whilst walking down a backstreet in the old city, I decided to enter the shop that was selling this camera (the shop looked as though it had been left unchanged for the past 100 years). As I entered, I was coldly greeted by an old woman who once I expressed interest in purchasing something, lightened up. I had no idea how a camera worked back then so I asked her if the camera worked, which she assured me that it did. I knew that I should probably not trust her but once I found out that it cost 40 Zł (around £8), I decided that it was worth it, even if it didn’t work, due to the beautiful aesthetics of the camera. Once I got back to the hotel room I decided to find out what this camera really was.